FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: December 9, 2004
Contact: Christa Skiles
Public Relations Director
513-345-2242, ext. 232

ROSENTHAL NEXT GENERATION THEATRE SERIES RESUMES IN JANUARY WITH PUPPETRY, MUSIC AND STORYTELLING

(CINCINNATI) — The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Rosenthal Next Generation Theatre Series continues in January with an enchanting performance of master puppetry, a fun-filled dinosaur rock show and a series of stories about friendship. The schedule of performances features The Jungle Book: The Story of Mowgli's Fire on January 15, Dinosaur Rock! on January 22 and The Mud Sisters and Other Stories About Friendship on January 29.

All shows take place at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in the Playhouse’s Rosenthal Plaza, between the Robert S. Marx and Thompson Shelterhouse theatres. The Playhouse is located in Eden Park on the edge of Mt. Adams.

Kevin Frisch returns to the Playhouse on January 15 with The Jungle Book: The Story of Mowgli's Fire. In this unique rendition of a Jungle Book favorite, little Mowgli must face his destiny as a man when the tiger Shere Khan threatens the peace in the jungle. Mowgli must escape the claws of this man-eating tiger if he ever hopes to be reunited with his mother. A great adventure story combines with marvelous puppetry to make for a wild performance. The show is appropriate for ages four and up.

Kevin Frisch, a native of Cincinnati, has been making marionette puppets since 1986. Working with a talented team of puppeteers and artists, he established The Frisch Marionette Company in 1995. The Frisch Marionette Company takes great pride in its craft as each puppet is hand carved and every costume is sewn and custom tailored for each individual character. Mr. Frisch says, “The Frisch Marionette Company not only produces exceptional entertainment but gives new and valuable experiences that create sparks in children’s minds and stimulate interests that will stay with them for a lifetime!”

On January 22, the Playhouse will welcome Dinosaur Rock! An interactive fossil fantasy, Dinosaur Rock! won a Parents Choice Gold Award, received a 1999 Grammy Award nomination and has been performed in 39 states. The show combines music and colorful puppetry to animate the world of science with the one subject that ignites everyone’s imagination: dinosaurs! Children will meet Stella Stegosaurus, Danny Diplodocus and a host of other prehistoric creatures when an eccentric paleontologist uses magical spells to bring dinosaurs back to life. The Washington Post describes the show as, “smart, tuneful and wildly imaginative … the Tommy of children’s rock opera.” The show is appropriate for ages four and up.

A national leader in children’s entertainment for more than 15 years, Dinorock Productions, Inc. has performed outstanding theatre for millions of children nationwide and has sold more than 100,000 award-winning audio recordings around the world. The company began in 1984 with the production of its first album, called Dinosaur Rock! Since then the company has produced two more dinosaur shows, The Great Dinosaur Mystery and Dinosaur Babies.

Internationally known New York City storyteller Laura Simms joins the Playhouse on January 29 for a hilarious and poignant series of tales, The Mud Sisters and Other Stories About Friendship. From a true life story of three friends who love mud to fables from India, Afghanistan, Africa and Tibet, Ms. Simms brings her elegant force, comic timing and contagious passion to the production. Performances range from personal narrative and original composition to dynamic contemporary retellings of epics, myths, folk stories and fairytales. She has been described as “a perennial favorite of children” by the New York Daily News and “spellbinding” by Chicago Tribune. The show is appropriate for ages four and up.

As an award-winning storyteller, recording artist, essayist, author and teacher, Laura Simms has captivated audiences since 1968. In 1999, she won the Sesame Street Sunny Days Award for her contributions to the children of the world. Ms. Simms is the director of the Gaindeh Project (an international storytelling for survival initiative) and travels often to Romania to teach storytelling skills at orphanages and to gypsy mothers.

Made possible by the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation, the Rosenthal Next Generation Theatre Series involves youngsters in the excitement of theatre. To ensure the enjoyment of all in attendance, parents are asked not to bring children younger than the ages recommended for each production. All 2:00 p.m. performances are signed for the hearing impaired courtesy of the Cincinnati State Interpreter Training Program.

Tickets are $4.50 for theatergoers ages four to 18 and $5.50 for adults through the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 or toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, 800/582-3208. Tickets also are available through the Playhouse web site at www.cincyplay.com. Parking is free.

Playhouse artists fly Delta Connection Comair, the Playhouse’s official airline. The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to the Fine Arts Fund. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Playhouse also receives funding from the City of Cincinnati.

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